A Ghanaian economic think tank has turned the spotlight on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calling on the Fund to account for its oversight role after the Bank of Ghana (BoG) posted a GH₵15.6 billion loss in 2025 under an active IMF-supported programme.
The Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP) issued the challenge in a statement responding to the BoG’s audited financial statements for 2025, released last week. The think tank said that given the IMF’s direct involvement in Ghana’s economic recovery programme, questions of institutional accountability cannot be sidestepped.
“Given that Ghana is currently under a programme with the International Monetary Fund, it is reasonable to expect some level of accountability from the Fund regarding developments at the Central Bank during this period. If such substantial losses have occurred under an IMF-supported programme, then clarity is required on the role, if any, of the IMF in these losses,” the IERPP stated.
The BoG’s audited accounts show an operating loss of GH₵15.6 billion for 2025, up sharply from GH₵9.4 billion in 2024, driven largely by surging open market operations costs, which nearly doubled to GH₵16.7 billion, and by exchange rate revaluation effects linked to a stronger cedi. The central bank’s negative equity widened to GH₵93.82 billion from GH₵58.62 billion in 2024.
The IERPP noted that the BoG had previously been narrowing its losses while inflation was declining and growth was improving, making the reversal in 2025 particularly difficult to accept on the grounds of stabilisation costs alone.
The think tank posed four specific questions it said both the IMF and the BoG must answer: whether IMF-supported programmes typically produce significant central bank losses; under what conditions such losses are considered acceptable; what specific factors drove Ghana’s 2025 losses in a year without a major crisis such as the banking sector cleanup or the COVID-19 pandemic; and what accountability mechanisms exist when central bank policy decisions result in substantial financial losses.
“Ghanaians deserve clear, consistent, and honest answers. Without accountability, the very stability being defended risks becoming unsustainable,” the IERPP added.
The losses have sparked wider debate. The Minority in Parliament has described the accounts as understating the true position, arguing that when losses captured under other comprehensive income are included, the total rises to approximately GH₵34.9 billion, and could reach GH₵44 billion when adjusted for what the Minority described as revenue from gold asset sales used to offset deficits.
The government and some analysts have defended the losses as deliberate policy costs. Officials argue that without the aggressive monetary interventions, inflation would not have fallen from a peak of 54 percent in 2022 to 3.2 percent by March 2026, and that the measures were essential for Ghana to remain on track with the IMF programme ahead of a planned exit in August 2026.
Recognising the scale of the balance sheet deterioration, the government and the IMF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BoG on January 6, 2025, outlining a framework for potential recapitalisation should it become necessary.
The IMF had not publicly responded to the IERPP’s statement at the time of publication.
